Two ‘failing’ Steiner schools could have funding cut over safeguarding concerns

'Safeguarding our children and young people throughout their education is paramount'

Steiner Academy Bristol is to launch a legal challenge against Ofsted following a damning report (Google Street View)

A pair of Steiner free schools have been warned by the government that their funding could be withdrawn over safeguarding failures.

The Department for Education has published termination notices to the state-funded institutions in Bristol and Frome, giving them just a week to provide evidence of improvements.

Funding agreements will be ended if the two Steiner schools, which were both judged as “inadequate” following inspections by schools’ watchdog Ofsted, fail to set out their actions by 20 February.

A multi-academy trust will be sought to take on the academies if the termination takes place. But closures could also be on the cards if an appropriate sponsor is not found, the notices warn.

The warnings come after Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, called on the government to consider shutting down Steiner schools which fail to protect children and provide them with a quality education.

Ms Spielman urged education secretary Damian Hinds last month to investigate whether the underlying principles of Steiner education have led to “common failures".

At Steiner schools, young pupils learn through play and creative activities and they tend not to start formal academic studies until the age of seven.

The schools, developed from the theories of the Austrian-born philosopher Rudolf Steiner, place a focus on children’s spiritual, emotional and creative development.

Ofsted inspectors found that staff in Steiner Academy Bristol used physical intervention “unnecessarily” and bullying incidents in the school were “too frequent”.

The watchdog said teachers’ expectations of pupils in Steiner Academy in Frome were “too low” and pupils with special educational needs made “insufficient progress”.

Steiner Academy Exeter, which was also placed in special measures by Ofsted, was sent a termination warning notice from the government in December.

But families of pupils in the schools subjected to Ofsted criticism appear determined fight for the survival of the unique education philosophy.

Parents at Steiner Academy Bristol are calling for a new Ofsted inspection and school governors have raised more than £17,000 for a judicial review against the judgement.

Principal Joss Hayes said external partners had already confirmed that safeguarding is effective at the school.

She said: "We are committed to making improvements and have started implementing a number of new learning programmes.”

Roy Douglas, governor at the school, added: “Our parents remains unfailingly supportive of our school and its ethos. We intend to challenge the Ofsted judgement in the courts”.

Nikki Doughty, acting principal of Steiner Academy Frome (SAF), said she had been working with the academy trust to create a “robust development plan to bring about rapid school improvement.”

She said: “The development plan that is agreed and in place sets out clear pathways for staff development and training which will be a cornerstone of our activity to ensure that the SAF is removed from the category of special measures as quickly as possible.”

Damian Hinds, education secretary, said: “Safeguarding our children and young people throughout their education is paramount, regardless of the setting in which they are being taught. Ofsted has found that some of these schools are failing to do that. Where any independent school fails to meet the independent school standards, we will take robust action including moving academies to new sponsors where necessary. We will continue our work with Ofsted to ensure no pupil experiences a substandard education.”